In the environment of new home construction, it has long been the conventional practice to lay the foundation and to construct the structural framing thereupon prior to performing additional steps such as drywalling, wiring, plumbing, and installation of floor and wall coverings, HVAC systems, doors, windows, cabinets, fixtures, and other items, including bathroom facilities such as bathtubs and/or showers. With particular regard to the installation of bathtubs, the typical installation procedure employed has been to construct a three-sided wooden support structure (open at one end thereof) in the space provided in the home therefor (this step being sometimes referred to in the industry as "ponywalling"), and to then install or fit a porcelain or metal tub within the support structure. Thereafter, a waterproof-type (i.e. exterior-grade) wallboard, e.g. gypsum board, is mounted to the roughed-in wall surfaces adjacent to the bathtub (this step being sometimes referred to in the industry as "greenboarding"). Thenceforth, a moisture-impervious adhesive, e.g. a mastic, is applied or tarred to the entire surface area of the wallboard (this step being sometimes referred to in the industry as "hot mopping"), and ceramic tile installed thereon. After the mastic has been allowed to set (e.g. after 24 hours), the tiled walls are grouted. Of course, the joints between the bathtub and the walls are sealed with a flexible, waterproof caulking compound such as silicone sealant to ensure the watertight integrity of the installation. A shower head may be installed in the wall adjacent to the forward portion of the bathtub to render a combination bathtub/shower facility, in which case, the bathtub enclosure doubles as a shower stall, which may be enhanced by the installation of sliding glass doors or other facilities for fully enclosing the bathtub. Alternatively, a separate shower stall may be installed. Of course, this additional installation would also entail most of the same installation steps required for installation of the bathtub.
The disadvantages and shortcomings of the above-described conventional bathtub/shower facility installation are numerous. Namely, this conventional installation procedure is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive, from both a labor and materials standpoint. Further, due to the inherent complexity and extensive human intervention necessitated by this type of installation, the quality and integrity of these installations are prone to suffer. Of course, these disadvantages are magnified when a separate shower unit installation is made. Further, due to the occurrence of such inevitable problems as tile staining/discoloration, grout deterioration, tile damage (e.g. due to cracking, chipping, etc.), the cost and difficulty of maintenance is unduly high, and the useful life (i.e. the mean time between replacement installations) thereof unnecessarily limited.
However, with the advent of prefabricated, e.g. molded fiberglass or fiberglass-reinforced plastic, bathtub and shower units, many of the above-delineated disadvantages and shortcomings of conventional tub/shower installations have been either overcome or greatly mitigated. More particularly, the installation of molded fiberglass bathtub and shower units does not require ponywalling, greenboarding, hot mopping, and tiling, and is therefore far less expensive (from both a labor and materials standpoint) and time-consuming than the typical installation of conventional bathtub and shower facilities. Also, due to the minimization of the possibility of human error, the quality and integrity of molded fiberglass bathtub and shower unit installations is generally considered superior to that of conventional bathtub and shower installations. Further, the molded fiberglass bathtub and shower units are much easier and less costly to maintain, and have a much longer useful life than their conventional counterparts. Yet further, the unitary construction of molded fiberglass bathtub and shower units provides aesthetic benefits as well.
In general, molded fiberglass bathtub and shower unit are currently available as either separate or combination units. As a practical matter, separate bathtub and shower units must be installed in substantially spaced relation to each other, since closely adjoining or directly abutting bathtub and shower units necessarily have a small gap area therebetween, and this small gap area would be highly vulnerable to mildewing and other problems associated with moisture-vapor encroachment therein due to humidity differentials between the gap area and the interior regions of the bathtub and shower units. This problem is further compounded by the fact that the gap area is very difficult to access.
Therefore, in instances wherein it is desired to integrate the bathtub and shower units, for aesthetic and/or utilitarian reasons, combination units are employed. Currently available combination units are of unitary molded construction, with the bathtub and shower units being integrally formed together. However, due to the space limitations imposed by the dimensions of the hallways and door openings leading from the outside of the house to the bathroom where the unit is to be installed (whether it be a new home or retrofit installation), the maximum dimensions of the molded fiberglass combination tub/shower units have heretofore been unduly limited, thereby imposing unnecessary constraints on the design and utility thereof. Further, due to the work-site space limitations, as well as feasibility limitations regarding the dimensions of molded articles, the shower unit portion of the currently available combination tub/shower units do not include the shower walls defining the shower stall enclosure. Otherwise stated, the shower unit portion of the presently available combination units does not include a shower stall, but rather, only the base portion thereof. This feature constitutes a shortcoming, since the walls of the house or building where the unit is installed, which are to serve as the walls defining the shower stall enclosure, must be greenboarded, hot mopped, and tiled, which procedure entails the disadvantages and shortcomings previously discussed in connection with conventional facilities, albeit to a lesser extent.
Based on the above and foregoing, it can be appreciated that there presently exists a need for a combination bathtub/shower facility which is not encumbered with the problems associated with conventional installations, while simultaneously providing the capability of larger dimensions than that of presently available prefabricated combination tub/shower units, as well as providing a full shower stall enclosure comprised chiefly or completely of prefabricated components, as opposed to only the base portion thereof.
The present invention fulfills this long-standing need.